Sophie Kowalevski (jan 1, 1850 – jan 1, 1891)

Description:

Sophie Kowalevski (January 3, 1850 - February 10, 1891 AD), Mathematician

Life:
Born in Moscow, Russia Sophie Vasilyevna Korvin-Krukovskaya, Kowalevski grew up as the daughter of well educated members of Russia’s nobility. She had such a passion for mathematics that she would often neglect her other studies until her father stopped her lessons. This did not deter her and she would stay up late to read a copy of Bourdeau’s Algebra when the rest of her household was asleep. Kowalevski was eventually allowed to continue her mathematics education and eventually left Moscow to study. Her father would not allow her to go abroad alone, so she entered a marriage of convenience with a young paleontologist, Vladimir Kowalevski, to leave for Germany. She was not allowed to officially enter universities, but she still attended lectures. By 1874, Kowalevski wrote three papers on Partial differential equations, Abelian integrals and Saturn's Rings and submitted them to University of Göttingen as her doctoral dissertation. She was awarded her degree summa cum laude, in absentia.

Contributions to Science:
Kowalevski was the first woman in modern Europe to gain a Ph.D. in mathematics, the first to join an editorial board of a scientific journal, and the first to be appointed a professor in mathematics. She made a major contribution to the theory of partial differential equations. After earning her Ph.D., it was difficult for her to get a job, as no university would hire a woman. She took a break, but returned to the field of mathematics. In 1880, Kowalevski presented her work at the Sixth Congress of Natural Scientists in Russia. It was this presentation that Magnus Mittag-Leffler, a professor at Helsinki University, noticed her brilliance. By 1883, Kowalevski was finally offered a job in the University of Stockholm, in large part due to the constant efforts of Mittag-Leffler. During this time, she also became the editor of a mathematics journal Acta Mathematica. These were her most productive years and she won numerous awards for her mathematical solution of rotation of solid objects around a fixed point. She won the Prix Bordin from the French Academy of Science, as well as an award from The Swedish Academy of Sciences and a membership of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition, Kowalevski wrote many stage plays such as A Russian Childhood and Nihilist Girl.

Death:
Unfortunately, her life was cut short at the height of her brilliance as she contracted influenza and died from pneumonia.

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